The Nats Thread (old thread link inside, too many load issues)

[StillUnknown]

Actually, Meyer was very promising. I like Span, but man I wish we still had Meyer. Big time prospect. Probably top 25 next year.

Some scouts still argue whether he'll stick at starter or be a future closer.

I think its a good move for both teams, although it virtually guarantees that either LaRoche or Morse is gone.

I would rather trade Morse and keep Laroche, but I don't want us to overpay for him.

I'm not so much concerned about the dollars as I am the years. I would love to get LaRoche on a 2 year deal, but 3 would be my max.

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

https://twitter.com/JimBowdenESPNxm

JIM BOWDEN ‏@JimBowdenESPNxm

Span ranked sixth in AL by fanning just once in every 9.2 AB's and since 2008 his .357 OBP ranks 10th among all OFers w/ at least 2500pa

[Popeman38]

Love the trade. I hope the Nats aren't done on that front. Morse, while a GREAT hitter, needs to traded to an AL team where he can DH. Sign LaRoche, then sign Greinke.

Lineup:
Span CF
Werth RF
Harper LF
Zimmerman 3B
LaRoche 1B
Desmond SS
Espinosa 2B
Ramos C
SP

Rotation:
Strasburg
Gio
Zimm
Greinke
Detweiler

Tell me how that lineup doesn't strike the fear of God in every NL staff, and how that staff doesn't make every NL lineup feel like crawling into a hole.

[skinfan2k]

Sorry dont resign laroche or grienke. Grienke is a loser and hes going to the Dodgers

[skinsfan_1215]

Span
Werth
Zim
Harper
Morse
Desi
Espi
Ramos

Get alternating R-L hitters in the 1-5 spots.

[Warhead36]

Love the trade. Natural leadoff who hits lefty, lets us slide Werth down to 2 and Harps can take Roachy's spot as power lefty. Most likely were letting Roachy walk and moving Morse to 1B. Much more complete lineup. And when Morse's contract ends next year, Tyler Moore will take over.

Its time to strike while the iron is hot.

[MLSKINS]

Look at the Nats, making smart moves and not over paying. ...

[StillUnknown]

I still only sign Greinke if it doesn't prevent us from extending J.Zimm.

[stevemcqueen1]

Actually, Meyer was very promising. I like Span, but man I wish we still had Meyer. Big time prospect. Probably top 25 next year.

I like the move because we got good value for him. Span has a .357 OBP for his career, he's a pretty nice leadoff man.

Prospects are currency. You've got to either spend them or use them. Our top three spots in the rotation are locked up with young players. We're getting a serious diminishing return on value starters after that point. No team needs to have aces in their four or five spots when they've got needs elsewhere. Meyer became far more valuable to other teams than he was to us. Talent accumulation is all well and good but when you're putting the roster together it needs to be spread out to make as complete a team as possible.

It's also a clear signal we're gunning for the WS now. There shouldn't be anything holding us back from that now.

[10]

Span is a solid pick up. He's no Michael Bourn....

Span career numbers: .284/.357/.389
Bourn career numbers: .272/.339/.365

For about a quarter of the price

JIM BOWDEN ‏@JimBowdenESPNxm

Span ranked sixth in AL by fanning just once in every 9.2 AB's and since 2008 his .357 OBP ranks 10th among all OFers w/ at least 2500pa]

too funny.

another great move by rizzo.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

Not downplaying span at all. I like the deal. Just have to admit we gave p a good prospect for him. Hopefully, he makes it worth it for us!

[StillUnknown]

Denard SpanVerified
‏@thisisdspan
def gonna miss everything about Minnesota. From top to bottom as a organization. They gave me an opportunity to fulfill my childhood dream.

Denard SpanVerified
‏@thisisdspan
Gonna miss my teammates first and foremost. Secondly gonna miss all the twins fans that showed me so much love.

Denard SpanVerified
‏@thisisdspan
But on another note I'm very very very very very very excited to be joining the nationals organization. Def an exciting moment for me to be

Denard SpanVerified
‏@thisisdspan
Going to a quality team and organization. I feel like a little kid again lol

[hunterx]

I'd be sad if LaRoche went away, but it would clean out the roster a bit more. CF was really the only big question mark as a need for this team's starting roster. Plenty of people will make arguments for both Lombardozzi and Espinosa at 2B, but that isn't really a need.

I'm really eager to see how our depth is filled out. I anticipate Tyler Moore, Lombardozzi,and Bernadina as locks to fill out our bench. I could see Tracy, Corey Brown and maybe some other free agent pickups battling for the rest...

[Tulane Skins Fan]

I'm thinking Greinke is on the list

[stevemcqueen1]

I'm thinking Greinke is on the list

If he's only costing money, I'm for it.

One of the questions being begged by the "Span is a cheap contract freeing the Nats up to make a big move" statement is, "Where do they make that move?"

We don't have any holes. We've got three aces in the rotation and a good BP (not that I would ever make a big move there anyway) plus some talent among the potential starters in the farm system. We've got more quality position players than we can play. Lombo, Moore, and Morse can't break into everyday roles if we retain LaRoche.

We had bad luck with injuries at catcher but it just kind of signified we're three deep with solid players at the position.

So where do you make your big move? It never makes sense to back the Brinks truck up to a first baseman IMO. Ditto for relievers. I don't think we could upgrade the outfield or 3B, where big money can actually be well spent. Doubt we could upgrade SS at this point either. Can't do better than our top 3 starters.

I suppose we could go out and find a big time player at 2B but it's not like Pedroia or Cano are available. And Danny is more than serviceable, plus he's cheap and never misses games. Plus players like Cano and Pedroia will never be available for just money.

So might as well go after Greinke and then focus on locking up our guys like Zimmermann long term.

Our team having so few holes is a big part of why I had a lot of reservations about signing Prince Fielder.